I am in the middle of designing and making my website, and am trying to implement a system where customers can input their credit card info and pay for their monthly bill. Does anyone have this on their site? What do you use? Any monthly fees? Cheese, I think you had this on your old website...

krzys666

01-05-2013, 08:38 AM

we use service autopilot for credit card charges.
80 a month, then you have to get a merchant account. bank of america has one with no set up fees, 1.99% per transaction, and no monthly fees

you could also use quick books. not sure about quick books directly on the website though

mike0507

01-05-2013, 09:39 AM

we use service autopilot for credit card charges.
80 a month, then you have to get a merchant account. bank of america has one with no set up fees, 1.99% per transaction, and no monthly fees

you could also use quick books. not sure about quick books directly on the website though

I am planning on using Quick Books, but I don't think there is a way to link it to my site. I have been messing with PayPal, but when I test it out, it says they are experiencing difficulties... Hopefully that will get resolved soon and I can run another test..

ringahding1

01-05-2013, 09:56 AM

I am in the middle of designing and making my website, and am trying to implement a system where customers can input their credit card info and pay for their monthly bill. Does anyone have this on their site? What do you use? Any monthly fees? Cheese, I think you had this on your old website...
I use Quickbooks for invoicing and the creator of it(Intuit)has online payment solutions. .50 per transaction under $5k...just a flat fee Intuit Payment Solutions (https://ipn.intuit.com/) Yes you can add a link to your website and Intuit also allows payments via smartphones as well.

SECTLANDSCAPING

01-05-2013, 12:02 PM

I have used credit card processing before but be warned. A CC user can reverse a payment months later, its up to the CC card if its legit or not. I fought with a company for 6 months that did this to me. With a check the banks charge $30-$45 to stop payment. With a CC its just a phone call and no fee.

I had phone logs, emails, and pictures of work to his property. The CC company still allowed him to claim it as a fraudulently charge. Eventually it was the customer that decided to pay it and not the CC company. He couldve stuck me and his CC company wouldve protected him.

BLC7

01-05-2013, 07:41 PM

Paypal will work just fine. You'll even have an option to set up recurring payments, etc.

SECLawn is right, a merchant account could be a pain.

Tricountylawn

01-05-2013, 09:12 PM

I will be following this thread as I am wanting to get a website for this year and I have been interested in accepting credit cards. Ive also kicked around requiring my non-seasonal accts to use a CC and charge per service. My thought is that this will help cash flow and discourage shady customers or at the very least eliminate waiting for those who use the whole 30days and then some before they pay.

Jack Rabbit

01-05-2013, 10:47 PM

I use Paypal. You can make buttons for your website as well as send pay links in email. Paypal handles several forms of payment such as credit cards and paying from your own Paypal account. They charge a small fee plus a percentage of each transaction. For me that totals a little over 2.5%. It can be a little difficult to learn Paypal's user interface but is is easy to make buttons once you learn.

Jackrabbit Lawn Care (http://www.jackrabbitlawncare.com/)

That Intuit payment system sounds cheaper. I'll stay with Paypal since few of my customers pay that way anyway.

SECTLANDSCAPING

01-05-2013, 11:00 PM

The problem I had was someone that used paypal. See paypal is a middle man and will not protect you from people defrauding you. Yeah its great for buying items that can be verified shipped. Not for service! There stance was theres no protection for services as they couldnt verify. Google PAYPAL SCAM.

BLC7

01-06-2013, 12:37 AM

The problem I had was someone that used paypal. See paypal is a middle man and will not protect you from people defrauding you. Yeah its great for buying items that can be verified shipped. Not for service! There stance was theres no protection for services as they couldnt verify. Google PAYPAL SCAM.

Sec,

I've been dealing w. Paypal for 7 yrs, and you're right in one regard.... PayPal doesn't protect services, but only on the buyer's end. The only person who could be defrauded is the customer. Meaning if you sell a 'service' via Paypal it's nearly impossible for a customer to win any dispute.

SECTLANDSCAPING

01-06-2013, 01:01 AM

Sec,

I've been dealing w. Paypal for 7 yrs, and you're right in one regard.... PayPal doesn't protect services, but only on the buyer's end. The only person who could be defrauded is the customer. Meaning if you sell a 'service' via Paypal it's nearly impossible for a customer to win any dispute.

I have never had a problem in 12 years using paypal to purchase items. There has been a lot of people defrauded through chargebacks. Again google it!

It might be different if the person used paypal to pay but in my case they paid through paypal with a credit card. paypal ruled in the customers favor and I had no way to appeal to the credit card company. For all I know paypal never did a thing besides threaten me with collections a half dozen times.

How do I know they didnt do sh*t? After waiting 90 days and being denied by paypal. I had a final invoice threatening legal action forwarded to the persons new address. The guy then called and said his wife paid the bill and he didnt recognize the charge. That it was all a mistake. He sent a cashiers check to me with a extra $100.

So if paypal was working with the CC company then why would they not shown him the invoice, the pictures of the work, the copies of the email, the phone logs?

Your buyer filed a chargeback with their credit card company asking to
reverse the above payment. Although your buyer reversed this payment, we
want to work with the buyer's credit card company to get your money back.
We are using the information you sent us to dispute the reversal.

Please note that because the buyer already reversed the payment, it has
been removed from your PayPal balance. The settlement fee the credit card
company charged for the reversal was also deducted from your account. If
the credit card company decides the case in your favor, this money will be
credited back to your PayPal balance.

Keep in mind that the credit card company determines the time frame and
outcome. It may take up to 75 days for the credit card company to reach a
final decision. We will email you once they complete their investigation.

**********************************-
What to Do Next
**********************************-

If you have any additional information related to this transaction, please
send it to us as soon as possible.

Here's how to send us information:

1. Log in to your PayPal account.
2. Click "Resolution Center" near the top of the page.
3. Click "View" next to this case and follow the instructions.

This transaction was reversed for the following reasons(s):
Intangible items are not covered.

If you have questions about chargebacks and how to avoid them, log in to
your PayPal account and click "Help" at the top of any page.

Sincerely,
PayPal

mike0507

01-06-2013, 06:51 AM

I use Paypal. You can make buttons for your website as well as send pay links in email. Paypal handles several forms of payment such as credit cards and paying from your own Paypal account. They charge a small fee plus a percentage of each transaction. For me that totals a little over 2.5%. It can be a little difficult to learn Paypal's user interface but is is easy to make buttons once you learn.

Jackrabbit Lawn Care (http://www.jackrabbitlawncare.com/)

That Intuit payment system sounds cheaper. I'll stay with Paypal since few of my customers pay that way anyway.

Well, I set up PayPal yesterday, linked it to my site and made a transfer of $1.00, just to make sure it worked. I log into my business PayPal account and received $0.67 out of that $1.00. PayPal charges $0.30 for every $1 US dollar!!! Plus a 1.99% percentage!! That is crazy! I will NOT be using PayPal and will be looking into what Ringahding1 suggested! If I for instance charged someone $25.00 for a one time mow and they paid over PayPal, I would only receive $16.75! Jack Rabit, is this the same for you?

BLC7

01-06-2013, 11:22 AM

I have never had a problem in 12 years using paypal to purchase items. There has been a lot of people defrauded through chargebacks. Again google it!

It might be different if the person used paypal to pay but in my case they paid through paypal with a credit card. paypal ruled in the customers favor and I had no way to appeal to the credit card company. For all I know paypal never did a thing besides threaten me with collections a half dozen times.

How do I know they didnt do sh*t? After waiting 90 days and being denied by paypal. I had a final invoice threatening legal action forwarded to the persons new address. The guy then called and said his wife paid the bill and he didnt recognize the charge. That it was all a mistake. He sent a cashiers check to me with a extra $100.

So if paypal was working with the CC company then why would they not shown him the invoice, the pictures of the work, the copies of the email, the phone logs?

Your buyer filed a chargeback with their credit card company asking to
reverse the above payment. Although your buyer reversed this payment, we
want to work with the buyer's credit card company to get your money back.
We are using the information you sent us to dispute the reversal.

Please note that because the buyer already reversed the payment, it has
been removed from your PayPal balance. The settlement fee the credit card
company charged for the reversal was also deducted from your account. If
the credit card company decides the case in your favor, this money will be
credited back to your PayPal balance.

Keep in mind that the credit card company determines the time frame and
outcome. It may take up to 75 days for the credit card company to reach a
final decision. We will email you once they complete their investigation.

**********************************-
What to Do Next
**********************************-

If you have any additional information related to this transaction, please
send it to us as soon as possible.

Here's how to send us information:

1. Log in to your PayPal account.
2. Click "Resolution Center" near the top of the page.
3. Click "View" next to this case and follow the instructions.

This transaction was reversed for the following reasons(s):
Intangible items are not covered.

If you have questions about chargebacks and how to avoid them, log in to
your PayPal account and click "Help" at the top of any page.

Sincerely,
PayPal

Hey sec, this isn't an attack on you... but we run the risk of having a payment disputed regardless of using PayPal or a regular merchant account to accept cc's. I never said you wouldn't be immune to disputes.... in the end you finally got paid which is good, but it's reasonable to wonder why you waited 90 days instead of going straight to the customer to sort it out?

Were you able to salvage the account?

BLC7

01-06-2013, 11:29 AM

Well, I set up PayPal yesterday, linked it to my site and made a transfer of $1.00, just to make sure it worked. I log into my business PayPal account and received $0.67 out of that $1.00. PayPal charges $0.30 for every $1 US dollar!!! Plus a 1.99% percentage!! That is crazy! I will NOT be using PayPal and will be looking into what Ringahding1 suggested! If I for instance charged someone $25.00 for a one time mow and they paid over PayPal, I would only receive $16.75! Jack Rabit, is this the same for you?

Hey Mike,

Generally you can expect to pay roughly 10% in fees to PayPal for most transactions.... make sure you have a business acct if you use them...... I generally don't pay attention to the fees BC its just part of taking CD's but I'll post my last several transactions + the fees taken out so you can get an idea of what they are......

Will post back when I get to my computer...

SECTLANDSCAPING

01-06-2013, 12:47 PM

Hey sec, this isn't an attack on you... but we run the risk of having a payment disputed regardless of using PayPal or a regular merchant account to accept cc's. I never said you wouldn't be immune to disputes.... in the end you finally got paid which is good, but it's reasonable to wonder why you waited 90 days instead of going straight to the customer to sort it out?

Were you able to salvage the account?

The guy was in the navy and was out to sea. It wasnt till he came back to his new house in Hawaii that I was in contact. Not sure if the mail wasnt forwarded or if the bills were sitting in a pile.

The issue is your better with a true processor over paypal. If I wouldve went to small claims I wouldnt have any of the info needed to attach to wages, credit card, banks, etc. I also wouldve had the opportunity to talk the CC company and most merchant accounts will fight with you instead of laying down.

Jack Rabbit

01-06-2013, 05:19 PM

If I for instance charged someone $25.00 for a one time mow and they paid over PayPal, I would only receive $16.75! Jack Rabit, is this the same for you?

Paypal's charge for processing $25 would be about 80 cents, or about 3.2% of the $25, using the percent and fee you gave (1.99% and 30 cent fee).

In the few payments my customers have made through Paypal the charges were a little less than 3%. Those were mostly for payments of $200 or more.

You have mistakenly thought that the 30 cent fee is charged on each dollar. Paypal, and merchant accounts in general, charge a small fee for each transaction (not each dollar) plus a percentage of the transaction. This is explained on Paypal's website and the fee and percentage amounts are there somewhere too.

This does mean that Paypal or CC's are not a good way to get paid small amounts. (30 cents is 30% of $1 but is a very small percentage of $1000).

I agree with BLC7. Do get a business account if you use Paypal.

I'm not saying that Paypal, or a merchant account, or CC's, are the greatest. Just telling what I know from my use of Paypal.

ringahding1

01-07-2013, 10:06 AM

Let's say I provided weekly lawn mowing for a residential client @ $37.50 per week. And the monthly total is $150, I will put into my bank account $149.50.....No guessing what will be deposited there.

Last year was the first time I offered any type of online payments for my customers. I can tell you that 90% of all my customers jumped on it. Yes there was the occasional computer illiterate that could not figure out how to fill in the 3 steps required, but they soon figured it out.

Intuit (https://ipn.intuit.com/) sends a link with the invoice that they can click on if they want to pay online. So even if they have not paid online before, I make sure the link is on every invoice. Even if I print it out and mail it. Customers love options.

Very positive addition for us getting paid quickly!
Here is another one that offers .25 per transaction, but I have not looked into it DWOLLA (https://www.dwolla.com/)

Jack Rabbit

01-07-2013, 12:24 PM

"No guessing what will be deposited there." There's no guessing what is deposited with Paypal or merchant accounts either. You can calculate exactly what the processor's fee will be if you want to. Of course you would use a transaction history or reports for your bookkeeping.

Certainly not as simple or cheap as "it's 50 cents".

That Intuit thing is looking good. It is cheap, simple for you and your customer, and probably works well with Quickbooks. If I had a lot of CC/online payments, especially small amounts, then I would switch to that or one like it.

BLC7

01-09-2013, 01:46 PM

Here are some paypal numbers based on the last 3 transactions I received:

Transaction #1:

Price: $57
Paypal Fee: $2.52
Revenue Collected: $54.48

Transaction #2:

Price: $28.87
Paypal Fee: $1.14
Revenue Collected: $27.73

Transaction #3:

Price: $39.97
Paypal Fee: $1.86
Revenue Collected: $38.11

I'm also looking into a check writing software... which seems to be even less of a hassle for both the company and the clients.